Liceo Costa Rica 72 Sanatura 102


Fifteen minutes before the game, we get news that I am not able to coach the game because my coaching license is not approved; what made matters worse was that our Head Coach, Neil, also wasn't able to coach because of problems with his license. Without going into too much detail (because we never know who might be reading the blog), it's remarkable that I could coach tomorrow in a variety of leagues around the world, but I can't serve as an assistant in this league. I don't have a habit of getting angry, but I was furious at the Federation, obviously not the mindset you want going into a game. So after cooling down for about twenty minutes outside the gym (my poor son had to endure my hissy fit), I went back inside to watch the game. My reasoning was that we had put too much time and effort not to see our team play.

Opening Night pictures





Liceo de Costa Rica is one of the oldest basketball programs in Costa Rica with a great tradition of success. However, in the last couple years they have faced plenty of turmoil on and off the court: changes in leadership, financial difficulties, clashes with the federation, etc. In the pre-season they were putting together what looked like would be a very strong team, but in the days leading up to the tournament several team members (including their coach) jumped ship.

So the team we faced was hastily put together in the week prior to our game, led by Coach Edwin Mora (who had played for me eons ago). They came out with an assortment of some league veterans, some junior team players and Canadian Dwayne Grant, who carved our defense for 31 points.

Neil and I watched from the stands as glorified cheerleaders. Luckily, we have enough veterans on the bench who can handle managing a game by themselves (ironically, we have more licensed players on our bench than in our coaching staff). We were able to break out a lead and then leaned on our bench for a 30 point margin as every player got in on the scoring action. Our front court in particular had a productive night as they kept getting to the rim. Still, you could tell our players were anxious for their first game; we had plenty of turnovers with balls flying all over the gym.

It was a tough situation for Liceo; I'm sure they will improve as they settle their roster.